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Summer blockbusters
Love the movie? Play the game
 | "Batman Begins" stays faithful to what has become a summer tradition — the man-in-tights blockbuster. |
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Production spending for these types of video games has since skyrocketed. Movie-based games look and sound like their cinematic inspirations. But what about playability? Are we talking about actual games here? Or just another interactive media kit?
With the heat reaching scorching temperatures, MSNBC.com stayed inside to try out the interactive versions of some of this summer's hottest films: "Batman Begins," "Fantastic Four" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
'Batman Begins'
"Batman Begins" stays faithful to what has become a summer tradition — the man-in-tights blockbuster.
Taking on the role of Batman, the player runs him through the film's major scenes from the Himalayas to Gotham City and into the big battles against the Scarecrow and al Ghul.
The game may be too faithful, perhaps. Batman does rescue the apple-cheeked Katie Holmes from the clutches of the Scarecrow, but wouldn't it be better if the bad guy was that toothy fireplug who's been ranting on our television screens? Hey modders, now's your chance to redeem yourselves.
But then anything caped and clad in tights belongs within the realm of the fan-boy, that faithful devotee of all things animated. Deviation in a game based on a film script crafted by 15 to 50 Hollywood screenwriters would run game makers the risk of a deluge of angry emails written in ALL CAPS.
"Batman Begins" reflects the maturity of the Hollywood-video game studio relationship. It looks and sounds great. The film's cast lends their voice with Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne nee Batman) providing a world-weary Raymond Chandleresque commentary.
Game play, however, falls into a familiar trap of the movie-based game. Forced to remain true to the movie storyline, game designers often feel the need to mix together a variety of playing ingredients sampled from other titles. It's equivalent to making a pot of stew out of the leftovers from last year's Thanksgiving.
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"Fear is your weapon," reads the box copy of "Batman Begins." In actuality, fear plays a small role. The only real weapon is following the all-to-apparent clues to completing a mission that riddle each level. For some reason, players aren't expected to figure out how to beat a level. Each clue, from grappling hook-friendly pipes to movable boxes, is highlighted.
"Batman Begins" isn't the first to put a pretty wrapper around a paint-by-numbers game. Too many games these days have fallen in love with shadowing and lighting techniques and professional voice actors at the expense of innovation in play.
But a video game adaptation of a film like "Batman Begins" makes the trend painfully obvious. With game experiences limited to the film's plot, play is no more than a quasi-interactive advertorial.
And who needs that kind of experience when I can do that with my action figures.
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